Winslow, Page girls finish 2-3 at sectionals

WINSLOW

Behind four state placers, the Winslow Lady Bulldogs took second overall at Saturday’s Section VIII girls wrestling tournament.

The top three sectional finishers qualified for the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s girls state wrestling tournament, which is scheduled for Feb. 16 to 18 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

Round Valley won the section meet with 165 points while Winslow amassed 133 markers. With 131 points, Page took third followed by Holbrook (117) and Chino Valley (72).

“I knew it would be between Page, Round Valley and us,” Winslow coach Tom Breeze said. “But Round Valley had a couple of girls that made the semifinals, but our girls pretty much showed up.”

Winslow was paced by the first-place finishes from senior Charry Benecke at 235 and sophomore Tatum Estrada (132). The Bulldogs also had freshmen Arora Madore (120) and Aiden Dickenson (165) place third overall.

Page also qualified four wrestlers with senior Tea Nockideneh (114) and sophomore Leyonna Sombrerro (138) winning their respective weight classes.

Juniors Trina Bennett (126) and Ilina Robbins (145) took third.

“Overall, I’m very happy with the team’s performance,” Page coach Steve Smith said. “Being the wrestling coach you’re split between happiness for some kids and you’re kind of disappointed for the ones that came up short.

“That is what section does to you,” he added.

Smith felt that they left some matches on the table as the Sand Devils had four other wrestlers make the consolation championship.

“We had six people wrestling for third, and we only won two of those matches,” he said. “We just came up a little short at the end in some really close matches.”

Winslow also had three others that made the consolation championships, but they also came up short.

“I had a couple of girls that took fourth, so they just missed going to state,” Breeze said.

As for his sectional champions, the Winslow coach said Benecke and Estrada dominated their championship matches.

Benecke pinned Monument Valley’s Charlotte Nunez in 30 seconds while Estrada got the fall over Payson’s Jade Sanchez in the third period.

“Our heavyweight is tough,” Breeze said of Benecke. “I knew that she would do it. There are a couple of girls in the state that can actually go with her. Everybody else she just pins like within a minute.

“Tatum dominated too,” he added. “She was up 10, 12 points in the finals and she beat her (Sanchez) up.”

The Winslow coach was also impressed with his two freshmen in Madore and Dickson.

“They’re both real physical and tough,” he said. “I’m just really proud of them. They fought hard and they stuck together.”

The Page coach was equally impressed with Nockideneh and Sombrerro earning first-place medals in their respective weight classes.

“They both worked really hard,” Smith said. “We knew Leyonna was going to do good and win some matches.

“And with Tea, she’s been improving her whole high school career,” he said. “She’s just gotten better and better.

“We’re proud of her because not only did she get section champion, but she’s gonna be a valedictorian at Page High School,” he added. “That is even a bigger achievement.”

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